


A Step in a The Right Direction

by mackenziemchale



Category: The Newsroom (US TV)
Genre: Aftermath of Genoa, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon Divergence, Completed, During S2, F/M, because I’m a whore for a happy ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2020-10-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:21:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 18,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25674244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mackenziemchale/pseuds/mackenziemchale
Summary: On their way toward the exit of the AWM building, Charlie grabs Will’s arm as he passes by. Leaning in he says, “I don’t know what happened in there or between you two earlier, but you take care of her okay?”Will looks for a moment at him and nods, “don’t worry, I will.”
Relationships: Will McAvoy/MacKenzie McHale
Comments: 38
Kudos: 36





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Ok I’m not wild about the title for this one but it’s the best I could come up with and I’m so bad at titles 😂
> 
> Also I’m a bit nervous to see what y’all think of this but I like how it turned out.  
> Hope you enjoy ❤️

Mackenzie walks into her office with a sigh, pulling her hair out of its ponytail as she pushes the door open. The broadcast ended a couple of minutes ago and while the show was good (except for Will blatantly ignoring her a couple of times here and there), she was completely and totally ready to get out of the building. The day had been excruciatingly long, no scratch that, this entire week had been maybe one of the longest she had in awhile. It didn’t help that Jerry Dantana was constantly on her ass about Genoa. She still wasn’t sure what to think about that whole situation and right now, she didn’t want to think about it all.

Besides Dantana being relentless, she spent some of her week worrying about Maggie, who had just returned from her trip to Uganda. Mac knew that it would change her but not that the way it had. No one knew what  _ really  _ had happened on her trip since Maggie wasn’t talking about it yet and questioning Gary didn’t help either. Mac felt somewhat protective of the young AP, she could see how Maggie was still trying to navigate her way into finding herself and she hoped that would happen after breaking up with Don. It seemed partially like that was what happened, maybe the trip to Uganda would help her find herself in some way, regardless of what happened.

On top of that, Mac and Will got into a fight three out of the five work days. It wasn’t even the fifth day of the week, today was Thursday and they still had tomorrow to get into another fight. Today’s fight had hit a little harder than the others though, the others weren’t so much fights as they were just heated arguments about their opposing opinions. No, today’s had started with Mac prying about that damn voicemail he still wouldn’t tell her the rest of. Things escalated and led down a familiar road that their fights always led to, the fact that she had cheated on him with Brian. 

Both of them remained mad at each other for the rest of the day, only for Will to leave a rundown meeting early when they exchanged hostile glances and harsh words toward one another. Him leaving was for the best, they didn’t need to hash everything out in front of the staff. 

Not making up or at least settling the heat between them before the show was what led to Will ignoring her a few times here and there. Mac scolded him for it during a break after the final time he did it and he finally listened to her. The only good thing was that him ignoring her didn’t lead to anything catastrophic happening. 

Mac rubs her forehead, trying to take away the pain from the pounding stress headache she had but to no avail. 

Sighing, she grabs her binder and her purse then strides out of her office only to be met by Neal. “Mac do you have a minute?”

Another sigh that escapes her, “Neal if this is about bigfoot or how the world leaders are actually lizard people… I really don’t want to hear it. I’ve had a long day.”

He looks at her sort of wounded that she would automatically think that’s what he came to her for, even though he  _ did _ push the bigfoot story a lot. 

Realizing her somewhat rude comment, Mac apologizes, “I’m sorry for dismissing you Neal. Can it wait until tomorrow? Or you can talk to Jim if it’s urgent.”

“Nah it can wait, sorry to bother.”

Mac shakes her head, “it’s not a bother, I just need to go home and sleep for the next… oh twelve to fourteen hours.” That was unlikely for her to do, she hadn’t slept that long in  _ years _ , but she definitely felt like she needed it.

Neal nods and begins to step back to go back to his desk, “well get home safe then, boss and I hope you’re able to get that.”

She thanks Neal and gives him a small smile and finally starts to make her way to the elevator. Maybe she could curl up with a bottle of wine and some trashy movie as a way to top off her stressful day. The more that she thought about it, the more that it didn’t sound half bad. 

Stepping on to the elevator, Mac presses the button for the lobby of the AWM building and lets another sigh out as she steps back.

As the doors are about to close, she hears a voice call out, “wait! hold the elevator please!”

Half paying attention, having already checked out for the night, Mac presses the button to open the door again. She figured it was one of the crew members from the show, they usually left before any of the other staff. Maybe it was Herb, she always liked him and he’d be a nice face to see before she left the building.

Oh how wrong she was. The elevator doors open back up to Will practically running to catch it before it closes. He was already changed back into his jeans and sweater and now Mac was cursing at herself for not realizing it could’ve been him. He usually didn’t get out of the studio or changed so quickly that she didn’t even consider that it could be him. 

Part of her was tempted to just press the buttons to close the elevator on him but the other, much bigger part of her that was hidden behind her anger doesn’t let her. Instead she moves as far as she can away from him as he steps onto the elevator, catching his breath as the doors close. 

There’s an awkward silence between them as the elevator starts going down and Will’s breathing returns to normal. The silence breaks when Will says, “Mac, look…”

“I’m not talking to you,” she snaps back immediately.

Will glances over to her, noticing how tense she looked and how she looked to be hating every second of this. He could only see part of her face but he knew it was filled with the same annoyance that was in her voice when she replied to him.

“Fine. You don’t have to talk, just listen to what I have to say.”

Not a word comes from her, she just shifts her weight from one leg to another as she watches the numbers on the small screen decrease as the elevator goes down.

“I’m sorry about what I said in my office this afternoon… that I thought you didn’t care about me or even love me when we were together. I was… well, mad, and speaking out of my anger and not thinking rationally.” Will knew that he was wrong about that and he certainly got an earful from her about how much she did care about and love him when they were together as soon as he said it.

Still nothing, though she could feel some of the anger starting to lift. Only some because there were still a lot of different things she had on her mind that were keeping her mad, things that didn’t happen only today.

Will continues, “I know you get mad every time I bring up the past, but you have to understand how hard it’s been for me to live with the image of you with Brian.”

That one hits her in a different spot she didn’t like, “you have to stop acting like you’re the only one who’s hurt here, Will,” she says in a frustrated tone. Mac knew it was hard for him to live with the thought of her being with Brian, but the way he took out his pain hurt her more than he realized. 

“You think I like watching you go out with other women? Having to watch you parade them around like they’re some trophy just to send me the message of how much you don’t care about  _ my  _ feelings?” She keeps her voice calm but firm. She wasn’t sure she had any shouting left in her.

“That’s not true,” he insists defensively.

“Really? Why did it take you so long to stop? I know that I hurt you, I can’t change that fact but I never did it intentionally.”

Will doesn’t have an answer for that one because he knew he should’ve never done that to her in the first place. 

“Okay fine, I’m sorry for that. What about Wade though? It’s not like I wanted to see him with you.”

Mac scrunches up her face and finally turns to face him, “don’t throw Wade at me. First of all, he was using me. Second of all, I can’t sit around forever and just hope that  _ maybe _ you’ll forgive me. The only reason we’re not together is because of you Billy,” her tone was harsh now.

He was slightly taken back by the use of his nickname, one he had heard a few times here and there since she came back into his life but it wasn’t as frequent as when they were together. Will looks down at her, her face showed annoyance but her eyes also showed the hurt of everything he had done to her since coming back. The pain struck him in the chest, he never did like seeing her sad.

There aren’t any words that he can come up with and when Mac realizes this she shakes her head and turns back to watching the elevator tell them what floor they were on. 

They were seven floors from the lobby, not saying anything at all when the elevator comes to a sudden halt and jerks both of them as it stops in its place. 

At first Mac just assumes it was nothing and they were just stopped on a floor to let others on. She waits for the door to open but when it doesn’t she grows concerned. Pressing the button to open the doors doesn’t work either, “what the fuck is going on?” she questions. 

Will steps in beside her for a moment and gives a try at pressing the same button, but nothing. He steps back, confused and says, “just give it a minute, I’m sure it’s nothing.”

But several minutes pass and when they do the daunting realization sets in, they were stuck in the elevator. Mac stays quiet as she looks around the room that they were confined in and her mind immediately reminds her just how small the box they were in was. 

Mac begins to feel a tightening in her chest and she knew that with the way her mind was going, this wasn’t going to go well. She doesn’t realize the tears fall from her eyes but quickly they were streaming down her face. 

Was the elevator suddenly spinning? No no… that wasn’t it. The walls felt like they were going to cave in on her and swallow her whole. She suddenly felt very small and vulnerable, that there was absolutely no escape and she was going to be crushed by the walls. 

Her heart was beginning to pick up in speed, so much so that she could feel starting to pound against her chest. The tears keep falling as she looks around the small room they were in, her chest feeling tighter by the minute. It was soon after that her throat started to feel as though it was closing.

“Billy…” she chokes out, finding herself unable to breathe. Her breathing had very quickly gone from normal and regular to short and labored. 

Will hadn’t noticed that she was panicking, she was facing away from him and as far as he knew she was doing the same as him: waiting for this damn elevator to continue going down.

The sound of his name being choked out was faint but enough from him to look up from the spot he was staring at on the floor. Right away he knew something was wrong. As he approaches her he hears her labored breathing which told him just what was happening. 

Having comforted her a few times before in the past, Will springs into action and tries to pull out the memories he had stored away of what he had done to bring her out of a panic attack before. Stepping in front of her, he keeps his distance and makes sure not to touch her, knowing that she didn’t like being touched while having a panic attack.

Mac looks up at him, the tears moving faster down her face, “I’m…” more short, quick breaths come from her, “I’m... sorry…” 

Will shakes his head, “it’s okay,” he knew she couldn’t help that she was claustrophobic, “just listen to my voice okay?” He seemed to recall that in the past listening to him talk about whatever could come up with helped calm her. It wasn’t a miracle treatment, but it helped.

She can only nod, still finding it hard to get more than a couple of words out. That didn’t matter, Will starts talking right away, “I know it feels like the walls are closing in on you but I promise they’re not. You’re okay, you’re safe, and I’m here for you through all of this,” he assures.

Mac nods again and tries to remind herself of that over and over again as he continues talking to her. His voice may not be some miracle treatment but boy did she ever love listening to it, especially right now. It was the voice of the person that meant more to her than anyone ever would. Up until this moment she had been outraged at him, but all of that was out the window now. He was helping her out of the state of panic and he had no clue just how much it meant to her.

“I know it’s hard to breathe, I know you feel like you can’t at all,” Will steps a little closer but still maintains his distance to make sure she didn’t feel even more suffocated. He looks into her bloodshot eyes and watches as more tears fall down her now reddened face, “follow me… try breathing in and holding it just for four seconds then letting it out. Do you think you can do that?”

The thought of holding her breath was terrifying, it felt like if she did her lungs would collapse and that would be it. However, having been in this place more than once, she knew it was the right thing to do. It was that or risk the possibility of passing out.

So, Mac nods and follows along as Will takes in a deep breath and holds it for four short seconds before letting it out slowly.

The two of them repeat this several times until her breathing seems to have gone back to almost completely normal. That being said, everything else hadn’t disappeared, her mind was still racing with thoughts and she was doing her best to ignore the worst of them. Her heart was still pounding so hard it felt like it was going to come out of her chest. The tears were still streaming down her face, but she was back to breathing at nearly a normal pace.

“Is it okay if I touch you?” Will questions. 

“Yeah… yeah…” Mac replies softly.

Bringing an arm around her shoulder, Will begins to guide her away from where she was standing, “why don’t we sit?” He didn’t know how long they would be stuck in here, so sitting seemed to be an ideal option.

She only nods and follows as he helps her sit down next to him. Mac still didn’t feel completely real, like the panic took her out of everything that was happening and she was still trying to find her footing in reality again.

Neither were sure at what point Mac had laid her head down in his lap, (her binder and purse placed off to the side for the time being) but that’s where she was. It was probably the most comfortable thing in the world to her at the moment. What was more comforting though was that Will was running his fingers through her hair. There wasn’t even a second thought when he did it, he just knew that she liked it when he ran his fingers through her hair. 

There wasn’t a word from either of them, Will was sitting with one hand in her hair while he rested against the wall of the elevator. Her hand was pressed against his thigh as a reminder that he was real, that she was in reality. There were still some tears falling down her cheeks and light sniffles from her every now and then, but for the most part she seemed to have found some sense of calm.

“Billy?” Mac questions quietly.

There’s a couple seconds before he responds, “yeah?”

“If we ever get out of here… can you promise me something?”

His first instinct was to argue and insist that they  _ would _ make it out of there, surely someone in the building had figured out that one of the elevators wasn’t going up or down to greet people at the lobby. Instead of arguing he just replies, “sure.”

“Promise me we won’t fight tomorrow… we’ve fought almost everyday this week.”

Will raises a brow, “you’ve been keeping track?” For him, all of their fights kind of just combined together and he forgot what days they fought and what days they didn’t.

“It’s not like I write them down on my calendar… I just happened to notice and I don’t want to fight tomorrow… no matter how much you might get on my nerves.

He slightly chuckles, “I’ll always get on your nerves, hon. That’s what I’m best at.”

Mac feels a smile spread across her face at his comment (mostly at the fact that he called her ‘hon’), she didn’t mind arguing but she didn’t want to be in another senseless fight. “Just promise me we won’t fight tomorrow.”

Will nods, “okay I promise we won’t fight tomorrow.”

“Good,” she replies quietly and hums as her eyes fall closed.

⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀●●●⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀  ⠀⠀

Will checks his watch and notices that it was nearing nine thirty,  _ Right Now _ with Elliot would be going on in a half hour. At some point he had looked down and realized Mac had fallen fast asleep in his lap, probably from the hair stroking that he knew comforted her. 

He rests his head against the wall next to them, being in basically the corner of the elevator and closes his eyes. The day had been a long and exhausting one so he himself was nearing sleep. 

After several minutes, just as he’s about to drift off, the elevator suddenly springs to life and slightly jerks them as it starts going down. He quietly groans and grumbles as his eyes reopen, annoyed that he was almost asleep when the elevator suddenly decided to start working again.

The jerk doesn’t seem to wake Mac and Will decides to give her those extra seconds of sleep. It’s not until they reach the third floor that he wakes her, “Mac…” He says softly and lightly shakes her to try and get her up before the elevator reaches the lobby. 

In the past he would’ve awakened her with gentle kisses all over her face until she woke up with a smile on her face, pulling him in for a kiss and then grimacing at the fact that they both had morning breath. Given the circumstances, that wasn’t happening but he missed those times.

When she doesn’t wake up right away Will gives her another shake, “Mackenzie…” he says a little louder but not loud enough to startle her. 

Finally her eyes open and at first, Mac forgets where she was and everything they’ve gone through in the past half hour or so. Then it all comes flooding back right away and the reminder of her panic attack makes her heart speed up a little, afraid that they were still trapped. She hadn’t caught on to the fact that they were moving down yet.

“We’re still on this goddamn lift?”

“Not for long, we’re just about to the lobby,” Will replies and begins helping her up from his lap. 

Just as he stands up and quietly curses from the pain in his knee, the elevator finally reaches the lobby of the AWM building and opens to a small group waiting for them on the other side. Charlie was there, along with the repairman who got them out, and Jim who just so happened to be on his way out when he saw the repairman and learned from Charlie that they were stuck in the elevator.

Mac feels relief wash over her as she sees the elevator doors open and the lobby right in front of them. No longer being trapped in the tiny box, they were finally free. Will lets her leave first and he follows close behind.

“You guys okay?” Charlie asks as he greets Mac with a hug first. He only caught a glimpse of her face but he could tell that something must’ve happened and “okay” wasn’t exactly how she’d describe her feelings.

“We’re alright, how did you know we were in there?” Will questions and watches as Mac switches from Charlie to Jim for a hug while Will is brought in for his own hug by Charlie.

“Your driver called and said you never made it down. Everyone said you left after the broadcast and I connected the dots when we found out an elevator wasn’t coming up or down. Fucking elevators,” the older man says as Will pulls out of his hug, “they’re one of the world’s best inventions and yet we still can’t find a fucking way to stop them from malfunctioning like that.”

Will can only nod in agreement at that before he turns to Mac who had stepped back and was holding up her phone, presumably to call for a car home. He excuses himself from Charlie before walking over to her, “let me take you home,” he offers.

Mac looks up from her phone, feeling her heart skip a beat. It was such a simple suggestion but the fact that he cared enough to make sure she made it home alright made her heart skip. Still, she didn’t want to inconvenience him, “oh… no, no,” she shakes her head, “you don’t have to go out of your way just for me. I’ll be okay,” she insists. That wasn’t completely true, she wasn’t sure if she’d be okay or not.

If this were any other day, under different circumstances he might’ve just agreed to that and backed off, but after the time they spent together in the elevator, Will needed to be sure she would be okay. “Mac you have to take an elevator to your apartment and I want to be sure that you make it there okay,” he says a little softer so that the people around them wouldn’t hear. There was no reason to expose the panic she went through, that was staying between them.

Looking into his eyes, she knew he was sincere and that he was saying this out of genuine care for her well-being. Giving in, Mac nods, “okay as long as you’re sure.”

Will nods in return, “I am.”

On their way toward the exit of the AWM building, Charlie grabs Will’s arm as he passes by. Leaning in he says, “I don’t know what happened in there or between you two earlier, but you take care of her okay?”

Will looks for a moment at him and nods, “don’t worry, I will.”

⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀●●●⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀  ⠀⠀

Mac lets out the breath she had been holding in the entire ride up to her apartment as she steps off the elevator first with Will following close behind. The entire ride up, he had held her in a hug at her insistence. Well, not so much insistence, she didn’t say anything when they stepped on, she just slid her arms around his torso and buried her face in his chest. It came as a surprise to him at first and he looked down at her, wondering why in the world he ever stayed upset with her for as long as he did. The very fact that they weren’t even a couple or anywhere near it had completely flown out the window for both of them. His arms came around her just seconds after hers came around him and he held her without so much as a word the entire way up. 

Her apartment door opens after a minute of her fumbling with the keys and Will watches as she steps inside. The lights come on as she flips the switch by the door while sliding out of her heels. He steps in beside her and takes a look from where he was standing, it wasn’t a large apartment but seemed perfect for one person. Will could spot pictures of her and her family and even pictures of her and the staff. He was in a few of them as well. The apartment was somehow clean and tidy even though Mac had one of the busiest schedules of any person he ever met. The entire place screamed of her and it made him miss when they lived together. Sure the decorations she put up when she moved in with him made him grumble, but she added life to his apartment, something his current apartment was void of. 

Will watches Mac as she goes about unwinding as if this were any other night, taking her binder purse and placing them in their rightful spots. That’s when he remembers he was  _ supposed  _ to be holding their past against her. He was  _ supposed  _ to be feeling heartbroken (not that his heart was fully healed). That he was  _ supposed  _ to not forgive her in any capacity. That if it were any other day he would already be on his way out the door. 

There was a problem with that, because he didn’t feel any of those. What he did feel was an overwhelming urge to tell her he did forgive her, because holding on to that grudge wasn’t worth it any longer. He wanted to say he loved her and that he had for the past six years, he never stopped.

Maybe now wasn’t the time, but Will wasn’t sure when that would be. Before he can make up his mind Mac turns her attention back to him, “will you stay for the night?”

He didn’t even have to think to answer, “yeah sure, of course. I’ll have to run to my apartment or something for pajamas.”

Mac shakes her head and walks over to him, grabbing his hand before leading him into her bedroom. 

There, she turns on the light and lets go of his hand as she goes over to her dresser and pulls open the bottom drawer. It was only a second later until she pulls out a pair of oversized grey sweatpants and a red sweatshirt with the words, “University of Nebraska” on it. 

Returning to him, Mac holds out his own clothes she had kept for six years, “you kept these?” he asks. Will had been looking for that sweatshirt for years. 

“Well more like I stole them from you… but then again they were technically mine since I wore them all the time.” When they first broke up she wore them religiously because they still smelled like him and the cologne he wore. Now, the smell was long gone but they were still comforting to wear especially knowing they were his.

Will nods, he didn’t even have an objection, she had a point that she did wear both the sweatpants and shirt separately and together a lot while they dated. Those two pieces along with any other article of clothing she could steal from him for at least a night.

“I guess then I should go get changed,” he says and makes way to the bathroom at her direction.

⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀●●●⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀  ⠀⠀

Walking out of her bathroom, Will finds Mac in the kitchen grabbing a glass of water before bed. He smiles as he sees her dressed in a black tank top and polka dot sweatpants, her hair pushed behind her ear and her feet covered in fuzzy socks. He couldn’t remember the last time he saw her dressed so casually and not in her usual skirt and blouse.

“Does your couch have a pullout?” Will asks as he approaches the kitchen.

She looks up and instantly smiles at the sight of him in the pajamas, there was something about seeing him like this that made him even more handsome to her. “Actually,” Mac takes a sip of her water, “this is gonna sound ridiculous but… I was hoping you’d lay with me until I fell asleep.” 

On the outside she may seem fine but she was worried once she laid down and was alone with her mind she’d relive being in the elevator again and feeling trapped. That could only lead to another panic attack and she really didn’t want to go through another tonight.

“Really?” Will asks, that was the last thing he thought she’d want.

Mac sets her glass down, “you know it was stupid to ask, just forget I said anything,” she waves her hand dismissively.

“No… no I’m willing to do that if you feel like you don’t want to be alone.” 

She looks back over at him, eyes softening and nods, “thank you. Don’t worry, it’s just for tonight… I’ll be better in the morning.” Before they left the AWM building, Mac had insisted she was fine and she’d be okay on her own but the more she thought about it, the more she knew she wasn’t. Having his presence at least calmed her nerves. She could’ve had another panic attack trying to get to her own apartment, but thanks to Will letting her hold him (and him holding her back) she was able to let her mind escape away and pretend as if she was elsewhere while they rode up to her apartment. He helped more than he realized.

“Only for tonight, only for a few nights, whatever you need is fine with me,” Will replies, he just wanted to be sure she felt okay on her own again. 

Ten minutes later and Mac was settled on her side (the right side) of the bed and Will was as close to the edge as he could get on the left side. Even though he held her in the elevator and let her sleep in his lap in the other, it felt right to give as much distance as he could. They still weren’t a couple (although now the lines were becoming blurred and there wasn’t anything stopping them except for themselves from being a couple) and he wanted to respect that. 

Mac had to admit she was surprised at his willingness to take part in all of this, to help her out of her panic attack, to lull her to sleep in the first elevator, to hold her in the second. She was used to him holding her at arm's length, giving her the best hug she’d ever received on Valentine’s day of last year but still holding her mistake over her head after that. It was confusing and truth be told Mac had no idea what he wanted anymore.

Will thought up until tonight that he was conflicted, part of his heart constantly telling him to forgive her while the other wounded and betrayed part telling him not to. Then tonight happened and there was this shift, it seemed like all of his conflict had fizzled away and the answer was right in front of him. His indecision to tell her still remained, what if he was only feeling this right now and it all went away tomorrow? Yes he loved her but the possibility of waking up tomorrow and realizing he actually wasn’t ready to forgive her seemed worse than their current situation. Will didn’t want to hurt her anymore than he already had.

He lets out a small sigh of frustration, only loud enough for himself to hear then adjusts himself in bed so he is laying down completely now. As he readjusts, his arm lands on the mattress and his hand bumps against her own. Apparently he was laying closer to her than he realized.

Mac smiles a little as she feels his hand bump against hers, it reminded her of all the times they shared a bed and how they’d frequently bump into one another if they weren’t already cuddling. She intentionally brushes her hand against his in return and that leads both wondering who was going to be the first to take the other one’s hand (because there was no way either of them were just going to pull their hands away now).

There’s a few seconds where Will is a little hesitant to go for her hand, but he knew she was giving him the indication that it was exactly what she wanted. So he slowly slides his hand into hers, immediately met with her intertwining their fingers together in response. 

Squeezing his hand, she whispers a goodnight to him before closing her eyes.

Will squeezes her hand back and whispers a goodnight too. His eyes fell closed a couple seconds later but his mind was still racing with thoughts. 

Neither were sure where exactly this left them, but they both knew that from here on out their relationship had shifted in a new direction. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah another idea that came to me just as I was falling asleep, I’m not kidding 😂 I’ve said this before but I think that’s when all of my writing ideas like to come to me.
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed it, thank you for taking the time to read it. And of course if you feel so inclined feel free to leave a comment or a kudos. Until next time 💜


	2. Don’t Wait

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She knew Will very well, probably better than anyone else, but she didn’t have a clue what he wanted this to mean for them. Did he forgive her? Was he ready to move their relationship forward?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have read over this chapter too many times at this point but I’m sure there’s still a couple errors that I missed. Regardless, I hope you all enjoy 💜

The sun rose at exactly 6:35am and its blinding rays began to creep through Mackenzie’s window, causing her to instinctively turn herself away from the bright rays and hide her face so that her slumber could continue. And it did, her apartment was silent and the only thing that could be heard was the whirring of the fan pointed at her bed.

7:00am rolls its way around and Will’s eyes slowly open as his mind automatically (as it was used to by now) wakes him up for his usual routine before work. With one exception, he wouldn’t be doing his usual routine because he wasn’t in his own apartment. A quiet grunt comes from him as he slightly shifts and looks around at the beige walls decorated with various pictures and pieces of art. It’s then that his brain registers that his arms are wrapped around a slim, small frame and he instantly looks down and sees Mackenzie still fast asleep with her face pressed into his chest. 

It all came back to him an instant, the past week that they had spent fighting almost non-stop, including yesterday. Yesterday, it all came to a head with one of their worst fights to date. Then it all shifted after the show and Will watched as Mackenzie, the person who could handle anything, completely broke down into a full blown panic attack when their elevator became stuck while they were trying to leave the AWM building. The _real_ turning point had been when he came back to her apartment with her and the realization that all of the bad feelings he had about what she had done to him were fizzling away and they were basically gone at this point. Then he stayed with her and they ended up in her bed together, and he remembered falling asleep while still holding tightly onto her hand. 

Now he was wide awake and at some point in the night they ended up naturally gravitating toward each other and were wrapped in each other’s arms as if not a day had gone by since they last shared a bed. 

Will was still looking down at Mackenzie, he only saw her side profile, but he was memorizing every line and every feature on her face that he could. She was without a doubt the most beautiful person he had ever laid his eyes on. There weren’t words to describe her beauty, even while sleeping with her face squished against him, there wasn’t any doubt in his mind about her beauty.

His hand was pressed against a bare portion of her back (her tank top must have risen up in the night) and he takes that opportunity to graze his fingers up and down the small of her back. It caused a reaction from her, it didn’t wake her instead it made her nuzzle her face closer into him and grip onto him harder. This had to be the most relaxed she had been all week and he was happy that she was getting the sleep she needed.

He lays there quietly with her for several more minutes, his eyes shifting away from her face and over to the wall behind her. It didn’t take long for his thoughts to consume him and he realizes as he’s pondering life that he never wanted to not be like _this._ There was a collection of memories that lived in his mind of times when they were like this, before they lived together and when they did. He didn’t realize until this moment just how much he really missed these moments. It wasn’t just the cuddling, that was a bonus, it was the domestic moments like making her laugh or smile or listen to her ramble on about a new book she found or take her shopping and watch as her eyes lit up at the sight of the shoe store. Will missed it all, he missed Mackenzie, he missed her being _his_ Mackenzie.

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It was 7:30 by the time Mackenzie’s slumber came to an end. Just as Will had done, she too had briefly forgotten about yesterday’s events and that he was still there with her. When she realized that her face wasn’t nuzzled into a pillow and was actually nuzzled into the red University of Nebraska sweatshirt that he had on, her first instinct was to pull away. However, she quickly realized that not only was her face nuzzled into him but also, her arms were wrapped tightly around his larger frame and more importantly, _his_ arms were wrapped around hers. 

That sent her emotions spiraling into a mix of confusion, relief, and happiness. Mac was happy that he was holding her, she felt at peace and all she dreamt about every night since the day they broke up was that he would be holding her again. Those dreams came back in a strong surge when he hugged her on Valentine’s Day of last year and she replayed that moment over so many times in her mind she lost count. She was relieved that he was still there and she wasn’t left alone trying to process the previous night. Yet, there was confusion mixed into the bunch because Mac didn’t understand what this all meant. They went from fighting all week and the worst of it came yesterday to him comforting her and helping her out of a panic attack, holding her in the elevator as they went to her apartment, laying in bed and holding her hand while she tried to sleep, and now waking up in each other’s arms. If the circumstances were different, Mac would believe that this meant there was something between them, that they were on a road to a romantic relationship. Considering that their circumstances were a lot different than the normal, she had no idea what to think. She knew Will very well, probably better than anyone else, but she didn’t have a clue what he wanted this to mean for them. Did he forgive her? Was he ready to move their relationship forward? Or was this some sort of closure thing? Spend one more night with her and get the closure he needed even though nothing besides being there for her happened?

As much as she wanted to, they didn’t talk about it after he realized she was awake. Mac’s first words when waking up were, “you’re still here,” in a half awake murmur. He met her back with, “I’m not going anywhere unless you kick me out.” It was then that she jokingly shoved him and said, “out” and Will obliged but guilted her into letting him stay by saying, “okay... only if you insist,” in a dramatic sorrow-filed tone. So she let him stay, because Mac didn’t really mean it when she told him to leave to begin with. And he did, he moved closer than he had previously been to her and held her a tad tighter. They spent an extra ten minutes in bed before she insisted that they needed to get ready to go to work. He reluctantly agreed and they both took their time getting out of bed, neither wanting to leave and go back into reality. 

Will told her as he got out of bed that he needed to go to his own apartment after she was ready because the only two options he had for clothes were the sweatpants and sweatshirt he was currently in and the clothes he had worn yesterday and neither seemed to be the right choice. 

Mac joked about him showing up in what he was wearing just to get a reaction out of the staff but he strongly refused, he wasn’t going to be caught dead showing up in his sweatpants. The old college sweatshirt wasn’t so bad, but that paired with the sweatpants was not something he was going to subject their staff to seeing.

So he waited in the living room of her apartment and changed into his clothes from last night while she got ready for the day. The time he spent waiting was long and it only reminded him of when they were dating and the excruciatingly long time it would take for her to get ready for a date. Mac always made up for it though because she’d come out looking like a million dollars and always made sure to wear a dress or skirt that really highlighted her legs just for him. 

When she came out maybe half an hour later, Will tried to hide his smile but he couldn’t help himself and he couldn’t stop himself from saying, “you look beautiful.”

Her outfit was just like any other that she wore: grey pencil skirt, black buttoned up shirt, black heels, and her hair was half up, half down. She looked stunning to him. He held back another smile as he saw the redness creep into her cheeks when he complimented her and she could only smile and sheepishly thank him. 

They left Mac’s apartment soon after with her leading the way and him slightly trailing behind to the elevators. Upon arrival, they stood next to each other and waited in silence for it to come up to her floor. During that short waiting period, Will could tell that she was starting to stiffen up and that some of her more fear-filled thoughts were starting to creep their way back in. So, he gently presses a hand to her back in an attempt to bring some comfort. Mac whispers a thank you and takes a step on to the elevator when it opens a couple seconds after.

The ride down was calm and Mac seemed to manage it better than either of them were expecting. This time he didn’t hold her as he had last night, but instead he kept one arm around her and let her rest her head on his shoulder as they descended to the first floor of her apartment building.

It was when they got there that Will decided they should part ways for a short period of time. He insisted on sending her to work in one of the AWM cars and to wait for him in the lobby while he made a stop at his place. He didn’t want her to have to deal with another elevator ride at his place and she agreed, so he sent her off in a car to the AWM building while he took a cab back to his own apartment. 

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“You seem frustrated” Sloan remarks as she watches Mackenzie stab the lettuce from her salad over and over again, a lot harder than she normally would on a regular day when they had lunch together.

Mac aggressively stabs the lettuce again before taking a bite, not yet acknowledging her friend's remark. She didn’t know if she even wanted to talk about what was bothering her. It was totally possible that she was overreacting but she couldn’t stop thinking about how the previous night and how Will had been treating her. She still couldn’t figure out if it was because he wanted to reconcile or if this was a way for him to get some sort of closure out of their relationship. She didn’t like how they completely ignored everything that had happened in the past fifteen or so hours. There needed to be some talk about this and she was beginning to think she needed to be the one to bring it up, because it certainly seemed like he wasn’t going to. The only problem was, she didn’t know how to bring it up.

Mac’s office was quiet except for the sounds of her and Sloan both eating their lunches. It wasn’t until several minutes later that Sloan spoke up again, “well if you want to be left alone… I should probably go get some work done,” she stood up as she spoke and started for the door, thinking leaving Mac with her annoyance might be best.

That’s when Mackenzie finally speaks up, “I just don’t fucking understand what goes through Will’s mind,” she says in an exasperated voice.

Sloan raises her brows, “okay…” she throws away the empty salad container into the trash before settling back down into the chair she had been in. “What exactly happened? Last I checked you two were at each other’s throats all week.”

Mac takes a deep breath and lets it out slow before she begins to tell Sloan about last night. She details everything from their awful fight yesterday, to how everything shifted, to this morning including the elevator ride at her apartment complex and the one up to the 25th floor this morning. Will had stopped at starbucks on his way to meet her in the lobby and brought her favorite drink. He held an arm around her and talked to her as a way of distracting her mind the entire way up to the 25th floor then they parted ways and she hadn’t seen him since the first rundown meeting. Mac then explains how she was more confused than she was frustrated and that she just wanted answers out of him.

“Okay I know I’m stating the obvious here, but have you talked to him?” Sloan questions. 

“And say what? ‘Hey Will I was just wondering, are you still in love with me? Because the way you’ve been acting is just like you did when we were dating. Or maybe it was all some weird closure thing and you’re done with me for good.’ If he tells me he doesn’t love me then I don’t know what I’ll do, it’s been six years and I’ve compared every man I’ve ever gone out with since, even just once, to him and how not a single one is him.” Mac then buries her face in her hands and lets out another frustrated sigh, feeling at a loss. 

Sloan shifts in her seat and stares at Mackenzie for a moment, “I know that conversations and relationships aren’t my strong suit, but let me give you some advice— don’t wait and hope that things will just magically fall into place. We both know that he knows you’ve never stopped loving him. I think it’s time you take the reins and figure out for yourself if he feels the same. Don’t lose your chance to get him back in your life because you’re waiting on him to figure his shit out.”

Her words only leave Mac at a loss for her own. She didn’t expect Sloan, arguably the worst conversationalist she has ever met, to say something so profound like that. Mac lets her hands fall from her face and watches as her close friend stands up from the chair and starts for the door again, “let me know how it works out.” Sloan then disappears on the other side of the door and into the newsroom, leaving Mac with those words and her thoughts on what to do next.

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Sloan’s words hadn’t left Mac’s mind all day, they lingered heavily as she tried to focus on her work and every time she saw Will the words, _I think it’s time for you to take the reins and figure out for yourself if he feels the same_ echoed in her mind louder than the others. She almost caught him before their last rundown meeting and planned on having the conversation, having taken all day to work off the nerves she had from the idea of him rejecting her, but then Jim managed to catch Will just before she did and they were occupied until the meeting started.

Before the show didn’t work either and neither did any of the longer breaks they had during it. It seemed that every time she tried to get Will alone, someone caught him first or they were interrupted before she could even suggest the idea. This was making Mac wonder if maybe the universe was trying to save her from a world of heartache. He had made it very clear several times since she first started at ACN that he wasn’t going to forgive her hadn’t he? Every single fight usually circled back around to the underlying issue anyway and maybe, despite all of the thoughtful things he had done recently (and in the past like embracing her hard on Valentine’s Day), maybe Will still wasn’t ready to forgive her. 

Now Mac was sitting in her office, the show having just ended, wondering if it was even worth bringing it up to Will when they take the elevator down together. At this point she figured someone would hop on the elevator just as she’s about to ask him how he really feels and if he’s done being in this sort of limbo, ready to reconcile. After the luck she was having all day, it would come as no surprise if some random stranger from another floor interrupted them. 

A knock comes at her door, pulling her out of her thoughts and in walks the man in question, asking if she was ready to go. Mac nods, agreeing and begins to walk side by side with Will as they go toward the elevators.

The silence while waiting on the elevator and when they step on starts to eat away at her and Sloan’s words were more prominent than ever. They had only moved down one floor when Mac finally spits out the question she’d been wanting to ask all day, “Will, can I ask you something?”

He shrugs, “yeah I’ll stay at your apartment tonight if you want, but I should probably get some of my own clothes beforehand.” Will only assumed that’s what she was going to ask and as he had told her before, he was willing to stay as long as she needed.

Her lips curve into a small smile, but she quickly shakes her head, “no that’s not what I was going to ask… I…” she trails off suddenly feeling like a teen again admitting to her crush that she liked him, “I wanted to know, actually I _need_ to know where we stand.”

“Where we stand?” Will repeats and looks down at her, clearly confused.

Mac purses her lips as she looks up at him, “don’t act like you haven’t noticed the change between us in the past 24 hours,” she pauses for a moment, realizing she was being a bit harsh with her words. Her voice softens as she continues, “helping me out of a panic attack, lulling me to sleep while I laid in your lap, holding me when we went up to my apartment, staying at my apartment, laying in bed with me and holding my hand until we fell asleep, waking up tangled in each other’s arms, and you bringing me coffee this morning? You could’ve handled all of that completely differently and yet here you are, still making sure I can make it through a lift ride without having another panic attack and offering to stay with me again. I _need_ to know where your heart is because neither of us are getting any younger and I don’t have time to wait for you to come knocking on my door telling me you love me and that you forgive me.”

Will was taken back by this, of course he noticed the shift. He himself had decided early this morning that he never wanted to stop being by her side and taking care of her. He’s known from the minute they broke up that he never stopped loving her and it’s taken him up until last night to admit it to himself (not counting when he was high out of his mind and left the voicemail she never heard). Still, and he couldn’t figure out why, he couldn’t bring himself to say what she wanted, “I… Mac…”

She crosses her arms, slightly annoyed that he couldn’t come to a conclusion on what he wanted. Mac doesn’t say anything, she just stands and waits for some sort of answer.

“Mackenzie can’t we talk about this later? Like when we get to your apartment or something?”

“No,” Mac was being stubborn and she knew she was being stubborn but she didn’t want to walk away from him without some sort of answer. Avoiding the question wasn’t an answer to her, “you’re not going with me back to my apartment if you can’t answer the question.”

The two stare into each other’s eyes for only a couple of seconds but it felt like a lifetime to her as she waited and hoped for him to give her the answer she wanted. 

“I… I don’t…” Will couldn’t gather the right words and he couldn’t figure out why he couldn’t just tell her the truth. He’d forgiven her for Brian and he knew he trusted her, he knew that he loved her so why in the world couldn’t he get that out?

The elevator dings a moment later and opens to the lobby, Mac lets out a breath and nods, “I’ll see you Monday.” 

She quickly turns and goes off into the lobby before Will can even think to utter another word. She was doing everything in her power to ignore the aching feeling in her chest and how it intensified with every step she took away from him. The weekend wouldn’t be enough time to process the heartbreak that she should’ve been prepared for but Mac would find a way to deal like she had for the past six years. 

Will steps out of the elevator, watching as Mac quickly tried to get away and the words she said to him last night echo loud in his mind, _the only reason we’re not together is because of you, Billy_. She was right, in more ways than one. He had held her mistake over her head since the day she stepped foot on the 25th floor, and he treated her awfully. She proved to him time and time again that he could trust her, that she regretted what she had done but he still held against her. Except for the things she did wrong, she did everything right. The rest was all on him and he couldn’t believe it took him right until this very moment, as she was trying to get away from him because he still couldn’t admit his feelings, to realize it. 

“Mackenzie!” He shouts and despite not wanting to run due to his awful knee, he chases after her anyway as she disappears out into the streets. Will only hoped he would catch her before she caught a cab. 

When he makes it out into the breezy, cloudy night, Will immediately spots Mac about to step into a cab so he races up to her and follows right behind as she gets in. He couldn’t let her just leave like that and either way he would’ve shown up at her apartment trying to talk about this.

She doesn’t notice him slide into the cab behind her but when she does she exclaims, “Will! What the fuck?”

“We have to talk about this.”

Before Mac can respond the cab driver looks up in his rear view mirror and asks, “Miss? Is there a problem?”

An exasperated sigh comes from her and she looks back at Will who was looking hopefully at her, and damn her heart for loving him the way it did. He was so lucky because if it was anyone else, she would’ve kicked him to the curb. Looking back at the cab driver she replies, “he’s with me.” Just after she gives the cab her address and they begin to take off in that direction.

Will murmurs a thank you and Mac turns away, insisting that she wasn’t talking about this here and now while in the back of a cab. She’d done enough of airing out their dirty laundry to everyone they worked with (and a lot who didn’t) and she really didn’t feel like letting the entirety of Manhattan know about their problems. 

So they sit in silence, Mac looking out of her window and watching the city pass by on their entire trip back to her place. Her thoughts were all over the place and she didn’t entirely know what to think about letting Will crash her car ride home, what was he going to say that would make things better? Surely he wasn’t going to tell her he loved her like she wanted, he seemed to make it quite clear that his feelings aren't reciprocated. 

When they make it to Mac’s apartment complex, Will pulls out his wallet and pays for the cab ride before she can even form a protest. Part of her wanted to chew him out and tell him he didn’t need to be doing that and she could certainly handle paying for her own cab rides. The other part and the one that seemed to be in the most control didn’t mind it and knew she already had enough to be mad at him for.

As she’s going toward the entrance to her apartment complex once they’re both out of the cab Will grabs her hand gently, stopping her from getting closer to the door, “come on we need to talk,” he insists. 

Right after he says that, Mac starts to feel small raindrops hitting the top of her head and she sighs as she faces him, “does it have to be right here? It’s starting to rain and you know what happens to my shoes in the rain.” 

More rain drops start falling and these were bigger and more than just a few here and there, but Will keeps hold of her hand and doesn’t make any effort to go inside. Instead, he lets out a breath he didn’t realize he had been holding, “I never stopped loving you,” he blurts out.

 _Drip drip drip_.

The rain keeps falling but that’s suddenly the last thing on her mind as she registers what he just said. Did he really just admit to loving her for all these years or was she officially and completely losing it? 

“What?”

_Drip Drip Drip._

“The… the voicemail,” Will was suddenly nervous and he felt like he was a boy again admitting his crush to the girl he’s liked for years. “The rest of the message…” he trails off and swallows hard. Of all times for him to be unable to put together a coherent sentence, it just _had_ to be right at this moment didn’t it? “It said, _Hey Mac, it’s me. Look, I swear I’m not saying this because I’m high and if the answer is no then do me a favor and don’t call back or bring it up or anything. But I have to tell you, I mean after tonight I really have to tell you, I never stopped loving you. You were spectacular tonight_ .” Will pauses for a moment and the rain keeps falling down on both of them, they’re getting close to being soaked now. He can see on her face in the brief moment that he paused how her expression had softened, but before he lets her say anything he finishes, “then there’s a pause… and I say, _can you believe we got Obama?_ ”

Mac lets out a laugh and it’s music to his ears. He watches as she steps forward and shakes her head as her hands land on his cheeks, “you’re such an idiot.” This time, she doesn’t let him get a word in before she brings him down, pressing her lips against his in a soft kiss.

She feels an enormous weight lift from her shoulders as they stand there on the sidewalk in front of her apartment complex in the rain, kissing each other like they were the only two people in the world. His arms were around her now, pressing her closely against him. The kiss quickly progresses and his lips trail from her own and down her neck, peppering kisses up and down the entirety of it while one of his hands inched up her back, pulling her shirt with it.

Her eyes had fallen closed and as much as she was enjoying every moment of feeling his lips consume her in kisses, she couldn’t help but think that somewhere someone was probably watching them since they were outside. That and they were getting completely soaked as the rain continued.

So she brings him off of her neck and gives him a soft smile, quietly telling him that they should probably go up to her apartment and get out of their wet clothes. Will was reluctant at first and he was still hovering close to her lips but he nods in agreement, knowing that staying out on the sidewalk wasn’t the best idea. 

As she starts to guide him toward the entrance, her hand holding his, Will tugs it and pulls her back to him for a moment, “wait,” he insists.

“Billy, I’m soaked all the way through my clothes and I don’t even wanna look at my shoes,” she whines as she looks up at him.

He can’t resist cracking a smile, “I’ll buy you every pair of shoes in the world.” Will then presses his forehead against hers for just a brief moment and lets out a relieved sigh, “I love you.”

Mac’s free hand lands on the back of his neck and a few of her fingers lightly caress his now wet hair and she gives a smile right back. She didn’t know why he felt the need to say it right here, but she wasn’t complaining. She pecks his lips, “I love you too,” comes out of her in a soft murmur.

They finally break apart after that and Will lets Mackenzie guide her into the apartment building without another word. There was still a lot they needed to discuss, everything wasn’t magically fixed with his admission of love and a fervent makeout session, but just for tonight she wanted to pretend like it was. They had all the time in the world to talk about everything and for now Mac wanted to spend the rest of the night never letting him out of her sight for a second.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lovely commenter (whose user I’ve forgotten, sorry 😂❤️) asked if I could do another part to this fic and I gave it some thought and figured why not? 
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed it. I feel like there could be potential for more? Maybe a couple more chapters? I have a couple ideas but it also depends on if you guys want more too.
> 
> Thank you for taking the time to read this. As always, any feedback or a kudos is appreciated. Until next time 💜


	3. Birthdays & Jealousy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “And everyone, don’t forget that we’re having an office party for Charlie’s birthday this Sunday. You don’t have to come but if you’d like to stay on good terms with me then you’ll come,” Mackenzie announces to the senior staff, half joking with the last bit. The afternoon rundown meeting was almost over, Mac was just finishing going over last little details for the show and other things going on like the party.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Credit to hanyolo for inspiring part of this chapter. 
> 
> Enjoy 💛

“Seven minutes back,” Herb says, and Mac is already taking off her mic pack, handing it over to Don— who was standing just off to the right of her. 

“Uhh Mac?” He asks as she practically shoves the mic pack into his hands, it was clear her mind was elsewhere, and she was practically running out of the control room.

“Just cover for me in case I don’t get back in time, but don’t worry I will be.” That’s all she answers as she leaves the control room and scurries off to hair and makeup. 

Don watches her disappear down the hallway with a perplexed look on his face, she’d been acting different lately and he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. She seemed happier. But that didn’t explain why she was running off to hair and makeup in the middle of a broadcast.

The pieces of the puzzle don’t fall into place for Don for another minute or so, not until Will himself pulls off his mic and makes his way for the studio door. Quickly, Don turns and watches as Will too heads off to hair and makeup. Right then it clicks in his head and he almost laughs a happy laugh but holds it in so not to be questioned by everyone else in the room. He wondered how long they’d been back together, nonetheless he was happy for them because it was about time.

The door to hair and makeup opens a few seconds later and Mac springs up from the chair the second she sees him and rushes over.

“You know this is completely insane,” Will says as she throws her arms around his neck, desperate for his lips to be on hers already.

“We have six minutes.” She shuts him up before he can utter another word by crashing her lips against his in a feverous kiss. 

He doesn’t argue back at first, instead Will let’s her push him up against the door behind him and groans as she nibbles on his bottom lip, seconds away from sliding her tongue into his mouth. 

Will hates to do it, he does, but if he’s not back in the chair in five minutes then they’ll have dead air and that’s never good. “Mac…” he lets out a sigh as he breaks their kiss.

“C’mon Billy, we still have five minutes,” Mac whines and bats her eyelashes up at him. Her finger is tracing the line along his belt that would’ve already been undone had he not stopped them. 

God, the eyelash batting was hard to resist. Now she was biting down on her lower lip and he was unbelievably tempted into saying fuck it and not giving a damn about the broadcast, but the other part of him wouldn’t let him. “Four minutes and you and I both know as a producer, you don’t have four minutes.”

Mac lets out a dramatic sigh and she nods, “I know, let’s get back before Don scrambles to find us.”

She steps back from Will to let him step out of the way of the door, however before doing that Will reaches out, tilts her chin up with his finger, and presses his lips against hers for a short moment. Breaking apart, he gives her a half smile and murmurs, “later.”

Her lips curve into a small smile and she nods, knowing they had all night once the broadcast was over. “Three minutes,” she says steps around Will to get to the door. And as much as she wanted to leave with him holding hands, they were keeping their relationship quiet, so she goes first and makes her way back toward the control room. 

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“And everyone, don’t forget that we’re having an office party for Charlie’s birthday this Sunday. You don’t have to come but if you’d like to stay on good terms with me then you’ll come,” Mackenzie announces to the senior staff, half joking with the last bit. The afternoon rundown meeting was almost over, Mac was just finishing going over last little details for the show and other things going on like the party.

A few people chuckle before Gary turns to Will and asks, “Will you’re single right?”

Instantly Will eyes meet Mackenzie’s but she quickly breaks the stare and looks back down at her binder before anyone saw the panicked look they were both trying to hide. They’d been back together for almost two months now and hadn’t told anyone besides Charlie and Sloan (and inadvertently made it known to Don). They didn’t necessarily have a problem telling the staff, but there was something about keeping it quiet that was nice. She had to admit she found fun in sharing longing glances across the bullpen and sneaking off into places like hair and makeup to fool around. 

Will looks back at Gary and nods, “I am. Why do you ask?”

“Well if you’re looking for a date for this weekend, I think I know someone who might be interested. She’s a law professor at NYU and loves the show, and says blondes are her type.”

“Oh… Gary, I’m- I’m not sure, I wasn’t really planning on taking anyone this weekend,” Will tries his best to dodge saying yes without making it seem suspicious.

Gary opens his mouth but doesn’t have time to get a word out before he’s interrupted by Mackenzie suddenly slamming her binder shut. “Well I think that about concludes the rundown meeting. Maggie, get me those numbers we discussed. I have a meeting with graphics in ten minutes and you all have work to be doing.” She was out of her chair before anyone else in the room and out the door a couple seconds later. Mac doesn’t glance in Will’s direction as she scurries off to the control room, knowing she was all too early for this meeting.

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A knock comes at Mac’s door a half hour later while she’s sitting at her desk, attempting to answer emails. She doesn’t look up at first, her face practically glued to the screen as she triple checked her emails were going to the right place, she wasn’t going to make that mistake again.

“You’re gonna give yourself a headache from staring at the screen for too long,” Will remarks as he steps into her office.

“Well I’ll add that to my list of reasons why I have the headache to begin with: is it the lack of sleep? lack of enough caffeine? or staring at the screen? The world may never know” she rebuttals, still glued to the screen.

He steps further in and closer to her desk, “Mackenzie…”

Will hadn’t seen her since she stormed out of the rundown meeting and since he didn’t get a chance to catch her before her meeting with graphics (as if he was given the chance), he was trying now. 

“Mhm?” 

“Can we talk?”

“Talk, I’m listening,” she insists and begins typing up another email.

He wanted to protest at first and insist she pull away from the screen, but instead he starts talking, knowing she couldn’t stare at it forever, “so... you’re not mad at me are you?”

“Mad at you? Why would I be mad at you?” That’s what pulls her from the screen, Mac turns and looks up at him pulling off her glasses in the process. 

“Well the whole Gary suggesting a date for me thing… he mentioned to me after the meeting that he was still going to invite her to the party and introduce us.”

Mac shrugs, “I’m not mad about that,” she lies plainly but tries to cover it by not letting her tone waver, “I say go out with her. Why not? You heard what he said, blondes are her type.”

Will studies her for a minute, he knew he was inches away from being in deep shit with her if he made the wrong decision. “You’re sure about this?” He didn’t even want to go on the date, not at all, but he was curious as to if she was just okay with even the idea.

“No one knows we’re together. It’s one night with some woman you’ll definitely forget about in a few days, and we don’t have to reveal our secret to anyone until we’re ready.”

There weren't any words Will could come up with that didn’t seem like they weren’t going to get him into trouble with her. There was no way she was happy with this, so instead of agreeing he protests, “Mac…”

“Will,” she gets up from her chair and guides him to the door, “you don’t have to worry about me. Spend the night with Gary’s law professor friend who has a thing for blonde’s and make sure the world knows you’re still a bachelor. Just don’t do anything stupid and end up on Page Six again.”

She doesn’t give him a chance to protest further as she shoves him out of her office and insists that he goes back to work, claiming that she herself was very busy. That wasn’t a lie, but Mac mostly didn’t want to talk about this any longer.

Once he’s out of eyeline, Mac walks back over to her chair and flumps down into her chair, letting out an aggravated sigh.

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Will arrives at the party before Mac does which he found unusual, most times she arrived at things before he did. She usually woke up before him, not always, but most days when they were together. They were still living separately for the time being, so he hadn’t seen her today yet. He hadn’t seen her since the end of the broadcast on Friday actually and hadn’t seen her privately since Thursday in her office. It wasn’t unusual for them to go a few nights without seeing each other, but after the whole Gary trying to set up Will thing, he had to admit he had a few worries. They did talk on the phone last night and everything seemed good between them but he didn’t dare to bring up tonight to her, he knew she wasn’t happy about the situation despite insisting he spend the night with Gary’s friend. 

Will wasn’t even planning on doing that, he was just planning on saying hello and partake in polite conversation but mostly he was going to spend the night staring across the bullpen at Mackenzie. Hopefully, this friend of Gary’s wanted nothing more than just a polite conversation. 

He had already met up with Charlie earlier and wished him a happy birthday privately, so now he was just waiting for her. Standing off to the side while everyone around him talked, danced, and played party games, Will eyes continued searching the crowd for Mackenzie. Surely she would be here any minute now and wouldn’t be skipping the party. She had made the joke that everyone needed to come or they’d be on bad terms with her. Plus, she wouldn’t miss Charlie’s birthday party, she had a strong relationship with him just like Will did. He gets distracted as he continues watching for her and doesn’t notice and Gary and a tall, older woman approach him.

“Hi Will,” Gary says as they walk up to him. 

He finally snaps out of it at that moment, “Gary, hi.”

Gary turns to the woman, “this the friend I was telling you about, Abbey Francis.”

Will turns his attention to Abbey, she was tall and almost Will’s height in heels. She was dressed in a knee-length black dress that highlighted all the best parts of her. Her brunette hair was past her shoulders and curled. He wouldn’t lie, she was a pretty woman, but he wasn’t attracted to her in the way Gary wanted him to be. Nonetheless he sticks out a hand, “Hi Abbey, I’m Will, nice to meet you,” he says with a small smile.

“Oh, I know who you are,” a british accent, which he hadn’t been expecting, greets him as she says that. “It’s nice to meet you too,” she smiles.

Gary steps back in for a moment, “Well I’ll leave you two be, see you around.” Just like that Gary was gone and it was just Will and Abbey.

Will turns back to Abbey, “so Gary told me you’re a law professor at NYU? I was a criminal justice prosecutor myself,” he explains.

“Oh, you’re that Will McAvoy?” Abbey questions.

“You’ve heard of me?”

“Oh yes, I remember hearing about you quite frequently back in the day. I’m a criminal law professor and former prosecutor and everyone in the field looked up to you.”

Will gives a small smile and shakes his head, “I don’t know if I remember the same as you, but it’s nice to know someone in the field admired me.” Just then, Will looks past Abbey and his eyes finally land on the person he had been searching for all night— Mackenzie. His heart nearly leaped out of his chest and his knees went weak the instant he caught a full look of what she was wearing. She was in a red dress that went to the floor that had a slit that went almost all the way up her leg, leaving one bare leg out and the other covered by the dress. Not to mention, the dress had a plunging neckline which was something she usually didn’t opt for, but he was nowhere near complaining. Holy shit. He swallows hard as he watches her walk into the bullpen by herself and toward Charlie to wish him a happy birthday.

He’s tempted to go over to her (more like run over to her), but he doesn’t want to just walk away from this conversation he’s been having with Abbey. He’s already been rude by tuning her out the second he saw Mackenzie walk in. So, Will turns his attention back to Abbey and apologizes, making an excuse as to why he got distracted before carrying on the conversation.

Mac is still across the room, now standing at a desk with Sloan, Don, Tess, and Neal. She’s not really listening as Neal tells some story, instead her attention is fixed on Will and the brunette in the black dress he was talking to, that had to be the friend Gary was talking about. She could only see the woman from her profile, but it was obvious she was a gorgeous woman and seeing her laugh with Will sent a feeling through Mac she knew a little too well. Every time he brought a woman into the bullpen as a way of punishing her, the jealousy rose inside of her. Though she mostly was hurt seeing him with all those women, it didn’t stop the jealousy from coming through too. Mac hated seeing him with someone who wasn’t her and the worst part of this was that she encouraged him to let this woman be his date for the night.

Just as she’s thinking of approaching Will, Mac feels her arm being tugged and is pulled off to the side with Sloan. “So, is that the date you mentioned?”

“Mhm, in all her glory,” Mac crosses her arms and watches as he continues chatting with the woman and neither hold back on their smiles and laughter. 

“Is there a reason you told him to take her out tonight when one, you two are together and two, you clearly didn’t want him to?”

“Don’t ask me to explain my irrational thinking,” Mac insists.

“So, what are you going to do?”

“Make him see what he’s missing out on,” she steps away from Sloan and begins to stride over to the drinks table. She didn’t have to look to know that Will was watching her every move.

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Pretending like Mac wasn’t completely and totally jealous of the woman who spent nearly half the night at Will’s side was harder than she thought. And Mac had to admit that she was frustrated he hadn’t made a single move to come and talk with her all night long. He talked with everyone else and somehow managed to avoid her. She started doubting her plan to make him see what he was missing out on until she ended up dropping her clutch on the ground while at the drinks table for the third time in the last hour. Mac noticed after she stood back up that he had been watching her bend down to pick up the silver clutch. She held back a smirk when she watched his eyes dart away as if he hadn’t been staring. That moment sparked a new flame inside of her.

Mac sips on her champagne ten minutes after catching Will watch her pick up her clutch, standing against a desk by herself. She kept an eye on him as she watched the party go on around her. It takes only a couple more minutes for him to excuse himself from the woman he had spent nearly the entire night with and make way toward his office. She sips on her drink again, waits at least a minute before glancing around to make sure no one was paying attention, then swiftly makes her way over to his office.

Will was pushed against the nearest wall she could find before he could try to form any words. He was glad he closed the blinds before she came in or else everyone would see Mac pinning him against the wall. 

Her eyes scan his face for a moment before she crashes her lips onto his, her hands reaching up to the top buttons of his shirt and quickly undoing the first four. She continues kissing him hard as her hands rub across his chest and work their way down to the rest of the buttons on his shirt. 

His own hand had found its way to the uncovered leg and was inching up the slit of her dress when she reached for his belt buckle. His words finally came to him in that moment as he remembered the door to his office could open at any minute, “Mac…” 

“I’m suddenly having flashbacks to the other night in hair and makeup,” Mac replies when their lips break apart, except she continues undoing his belt.

Will takes her hands off his belt, “that door could open at any second and since there’s no locks, nothing is going to stop someone from seeing something they don’t wanna see.” He kisses her hands before letting go and redoing the buttons on his shirt. 

Once he’s fixed himself back up Will looks back at Mac, “but that doesn't mean I won’t be in hair and makeup where no one will be and the door actually locks in…” he glances down at his watch, “ten minutes.”

“What about your date?” It was hard to hide the jealousy in her voice even though she tried. Mac stepped back after she asked that and moved to adjust her dress, flattening out the few wrinkles he managed to put into it.

“You know, I’ve seen you jealous before, but I think this is a whole new level,” Will chuckles.

Mac shoots her head back up from looking at her dress and at him, “I am not jealous!” she denies.

He holds in a laugh that time and gives her an ‘are you serious?’ look, “trust me honey, I know jealousy when I see it.”

“I am not jealous,” Mac reiterates, as if she were trying to make herself believe it. Like she hadn’t spent her night watching Will from across the bullpen, filling with jealousy especially every time that woman (whose name she still didn’t know) made him laugh.

Will begins walking toward the door of his office, “don’t worry, it’s kind of a turn on. See you in ten minutes.”

Mac watches as he walks out of the office, eyebrows slightly raised because she hadn’t been expecting him to say that. She can’t help but smirk then walk out of his office a couple minutes later to find a way to occupy her time for the next ten minutes.

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“Someone’s sleepy,” Will points out as the two of them stand in the elevator of the AWM building, his arm wrapped around her waist while she rested her head on his shoulder with her eyes closed. 

“Mm…” Mac mumbles and holds one of her arms inside his jacket and around his upper half, “my boyfriend kept me up very very late last night,” she complains.

“Well maybe you should break up with him, sounds like he’s not taking your health into consideration,” he jokes.

“Okay…” she trails off and only holds on to him tighter, “I’ll get right on top of that.”

After their short make out session in Will’s office about halfway through the night, fifteen minutes later they were in hair and makeup with the door locked and their clothes gone within mere minutes. Mac was surprised her dressed hadn’t received a single rip to it after the way he pulled it off of her. She was even more surprised that no one from the party heard them, but then again, the music and chatter was loud enough to mask the moans they barely tried to hold back on.

When they got back to his apartment after the party it didn’t take long for their clothes to disappear again and she didn’t get the chance to check, but she was pretty sure his shirt was missing a few buttons now. 

They finally settled down very late into the night and though they were overcome with exhaustion, they spent at least ten more minutes talking about the party. Mac wanted to be sure he knew she wasn’t mad at him for spending the night with Gary’s friend. Jealous, yes but mad, no. They were in a really good place in their relationship and Mac didn’t question how he felt about her, she knew. Will tried to give an apology for not spending more of the night with her but Mac didn’t take the apology, insisting that he had certainly made up for it.

The elevator dings a couple minutes later and Mac groans like she was hungover from a long night of drinking. Will only laughs, “you really are tired,” he then helps her out of the elevator and kisses her head before breaking apart, “I’m going to go get you some coffee. Don’t start anything without me.”

“That’s guaranteed,” Mac says and follows behind as he goes into the bullpen.

Upon arriving in the newsroom, Mac doesn’t have time to make it to her office because the second Jerry Dantana notices her presence, he walks over to her.

She holds up a hand as he opens his mouth, “Jerry… I do not have the energy to think about Genoa right now so if you could please spare me the details until later in the day when I’ve got at least four cups of coffee running through my veins… that would be great.”

“But-”

Mac cuts him off, “no buts, I’m this close to falling to the floor and sleeping for half of the day so I would appreciate it if you waited until later to talk about this. If it’s really urgent then we’ll talk about it at the first rundown meeting but no sooner.”

Jerry complies, “okay, sorry boss.”

She watches as he walks back to his desk and she lets out a sigh of relief because most days Jerry was more insistent than he was just now. If he would’ve kept pushing Mac was pretty sure she’d be in handcuffs right now from choking him to death.

Will was at her side a minute later with a half smile on his face, “coffee, just how you like it,” he offers.

She turns to him, instantly filled with joy that he brought her coffee, “you are a saint, thank you.” Without thinking (thanks to her exhaustion), Mac leans in and gives Will a kiss on the lips, forgetting that they were in front of the entire staff.

Upon breaking apart, Mac takes the coffee from his hand and gives him a smile which is only met by his brows raising. “Mac...”

It hits her like a ton of bricks just as she’s about to take a sip, “shit,” she utters and then turns toward the staff, who were quickly averting their eyes, trying to pretend like they didn’t witness the kiss.

“Don’t worry, I’ll handle this” Will says as he leans over to her and then turns as the staff continue to try and work as if they hadn’t kissed in front of them.

“Everyone,” Will announces, “Mackenzie and I have some important news to share with you all.”

Senior staff members start turning their heads, Maggie looks up from her computer, Neal turns from his, and Tess puts someone on hold before turning to her bosses.

He looks back at Mac for a moment and smiles a little, then turns back to the staff, “Mac and I have been seeing each other for a little while now and while we weren’t planning on announcing it anytime soon…” another look with a raised brow at her before he shifts back, “things happen. That’s all you need to know and that’s all you’re getting, back to work.”

Mac looks up at him with her own smile now and takes his hand, still sipping away at her coffee. She follows quietly at his side as Will starts to walk toward his office.

“I thought we all knew this already?” Tamara asks a little louder than she had intended, causing both to stop in their tracks before they can get anywhere near Will’s office.

“I knew, Neal knew too, and Kendra,” Tess answers back, neither having realized Will and Mac had tuned into the conversation.

“Wait a second, how many of you already knew Mac and I have been back together for a while now?” He questions loud enough for all the staff to hear as he turns to face them again. 

Will watches as Tess, Kendra, Tamara, Neal, Maggie, and Jenna all raise their hands. That was more of the staff than he was expecting and now he was questioning if they hadn’t been as secretive as they thought.

“What are we raising our hands for?” Don asks as he walks into the newsroom just a moment later.

“How many of us already knew Mac and Will were back together,” Tess answers.

“Oh,” Don raises his hand too.

“Wait you all knew, and no one told me before I set Will up on a date with my friend?” Gary questions as he looks around.

“We sort of had a bet going to see who would figure it out first, you or Martin,” Neal explains and glances over to Martian who was staring at his computer and still seemed clueless.

That’s confirmed when Martin looks up at the mention of his name, “what about me?”

“Looks like you won,” Neal concludes.

Mac looks up at Will and then back out at the staff, “well now it’s all out in the open and everyone knows so back to work. See you all at the morning rundown,” she then drags Will away from the staff and into his office finally.

“We don’t give them enough credit, I guess we weren’t as slick as we thought,” she says as she sets down the now empty coffee cup, knowing she’d refill it soon.

“I guess so, but I have to admit,” Will says and pulls her close to him, bringing his arms around her waist, “I’ll miss sneaking around,” he admits.

Mac smiles as she puts her arms around his torso, “who said we have to stop sneaking around now that the staff knows?”

He smirks, “I guess you make a good point.”

“So, I’ll see you in the editing bay at around one then?” She quirks a brow.

“It’s a date,” he smiles.

Mac smiles in return and gives him a quick but loving kiss before pulling away. She grabs her coffee cup and heads out of his office for now, trying to conceal her excitement for their afternoon meet up. 

Will watches with his own smile as she disappears back into the newsroom, glad that the weekend went better than he had been expecting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well their terribly kept secret is out to the entire staff 😂 
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed this one, I have an idea for one more chapter so that’ll probably be the last one. 
> 
> As always, thank you for reading. Feel free to leave a kudos or any comments you might have. See you soon with the last chapter 💛


	4. Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> But it wasn’t. Jerry Dantana had lied, had doctored a tape to make his story true, and now everyone at Atlantis Cable News, specifically at News Night, was paying the price for it.

Will’s heart plummeted from his chest to his stomach and nearly out of his body when he saw Mackenzie walk into his office, the room filled with the senior staff and she stood there tears eyed, announcing they had to retract Genoa.

The room was silent, no one moved from their spot except sharing sorrow-filled glances with the person next them, and no one knew what to say. Will stood in shock and watched as Mackenzie stared down at the floor, trying to keep her tears at bay.

It was a solid five minutes before the room cleared out, and only a few members of the staff mumbled something about having a good show. Mac was still standing in the same place, and truth be told, she wasn’t sure she could look Will in the eyes. As if she was the one who made up the story, who lied, who doctored the tapes but she wasn’t, it was all Dantana. Jerry fucking Dantana. Yet, she nonetheless felt guilty because she blamed herself for all of this. 

Will approaches her and reaches out, pressing a hand on her shoulder gently, “Mackenzie…” If he’s honest, his words are failing him too. He wanted to tell her it wasn’t her fault because it wasn’t, but he himself still couldn’t process what she just told him.

“I-I um… I need to go prepare for the show… figure out what we’re going to say.”

She steps back then finally tilts her head up to look at him, her gaze full of sorrow and guilt. Mac didn’t have any more words, none that she could get out for now anyway. She just gives him a small, sad smile and turns away, leaving his office and heading to her own to write a quick script before they have to be on the air. They needed to retract the story immediately before it did any more damage than it already had. 

Will watches as she walks out of his office, his chest still aching terribly. Out of all things he expected her to come into his office and say, it wasn’t that. He had his worries about the story but with the evidence and video from Stomtonovich (which he still didn’t know was doctored), he thought for sure the story had to be true.

But it wasn’t. Jerry Dantana had lied, had doctored a tape to make his story true, and now everyone at Atlantis Cable News, specifically at News Night, was paying the price for it.

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It was hard to decide what was more difficult, being the one to retract the story, being the one to produce the show as the story was retracted, or be one of the journalists standing in the New York ACN newsroom as Will explained that the story they reported had been fabricated. Really they all were on the same level, except being the one to report the story, having to be the face sat just a little higher. People were going to look at it and think of Will when they thought of the lies they’d been told by a news show, a news network, they once trusted. No one was going to think past him, because why would they? They’re not going to think about how it wasn’t _just_ Will who worked on the story, because those people are behind the scenes. And they’re most definitely not going to think or even know the name of the person who brought the story to Mackenzie’s attention in the first place.

Being the face of a fabricated story and the one who had to retract it didn’t sit lightly on Will’s heart, but he had another concern at the forefront of his thoughts. Mackenzie. She wasn’t taking it well in the slightest, and she hadn’t talked to him at all since the show. Even during the show she wasn’t actually talking to him, she was just producing. None of her quips or flirting were there at all, _she_ almost didn’t seem there. 

Will looks over to Mac as his driver takes them back to their apartment. She’s looking out the window, holding onto her binder so tight that her knuckles had turned white. Not a word from her. He reaches out and carefully undoes the grip then slides his fingers into hers, giving a gentle squeeze. He doesn’t say anything either, having decided to wait to have a conversation until they reached the apartment.

Mac finally shifts her attention away from the city and over at him, giving another sad small smile and squeezing his hand back before turning her gaze back into the city.

When they made it home, they went about their nightly routine quietly, they moved around each other with ease like a well-oiled machine. They always worked that way when living together, even before they broke up. The only difference tonight was that the apartment was lacking in most of its usual sounds. Sounds of laughter, sounds of their voices filling the air as they talked. The sounds that remained were the sounds of their footsteps as they moved around the apartment and the sounds of doors or drawers opening and closing. 

The sound of Will’s footsteps approaching the bed still remained the same as they always did but there wasn’t the usual exchange they had when he got into bed. Mac was facing away from him, wrapped in the bed sheets as she stared at the wall. 

He turns on his left side so that he is facing her back and reaches out, pressing his hand against her back and rubbing down it slowly. Will felt bad that he hadn’t comforted her enough, but this night had been dreadful for everyone on the News Night staff. In all his years journalism this had to be the worst of the worst days he’d ever been through. 

Mac relaxes against his touch and soon turns over to look at him. She felt bad too, she knew she was being selfish but how could she not blame herself for letting all of this happen? She was the executive producer for god’s sake. The inaccuracies of the story should’ve never slipped past her in the way they had. It didn’t matter to her that she wasn’t the one who doctored the tape, she still carried a heavy weight of guilt. She should’ve listened to Jim’s hesitations and worries about going through with the story.

Her gaze stays fixed on his for several moments then she brings her hand up, runs her fingers through his soft blonde locks, then trails her hand down to his cheek. Mac doesn’t say a word the entire time, instead she ends the interaction with a gentle kiss not on his lips but on his forehead. She then turns back around and goes back to the position she’d been in, staring at the wall, hoping that if she stared at it long enough it would bore her to sleep.

Will closes his eyes for a moment as Mac kisses his forehead and for the first time tonight he feels the slightest relief. All of the weight that was sitting on his shoulders and his heart weren’t gone, but he felt the smallest wave of relief like the weights briefly lifted before they sat right back down in their place. He watches her settle back into her previous position and this time Will scoots in behind her. Originally, when he crawled into bed, he thought he might just leave her be but after that short interaction he wasn’t going to pass up another opportunity to comfort her. Not to mention, he found holding her to be a comfort to him, even if she only held his hand. 

Putting an arm around her waist, Will then presses a kiss to her shoulder then another on her head. He whispers a goodnight and closes his eyes, partially hoping that he would wake up in the morning and realize this had all just been a bad dream. 

Mac does end up taking his hand just after he closes his eyes and she tries to do the same, but she knew it wasn’t as easy to get her brain to shut off.

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It wasn’t ever that easy for Mackenzie, to just fall asleep with ease. Even before she went to the Middle East and threw herself into a war zone, she had always been a night owl. And she’d never been the type to fall asleep within minutes of closing her eyes, no it would take at least twenty minutes or more because shutting off her brain wasn’t just a simple flick of the switch.

It was at least an hour after Will fell asleep with his arm wrapped around her that Mac decided to get up. She waited an extra thirty minutes just to be sure he was asleep that way he wouldn’t wake when she got up. He didn’t. When she turned back he was still sound asleep, having already grabbed a pillow to hold in her place. She shook her head at that with a small smile on her face, always a cuddler that one.

Mac left their room minutes after getting out of bed and spent the next hour writing up a letter of resignation. She knew if Will ever found out what she was doing he’d tell her she was being irrational and insist she delete it, but it was the only thing that felt right. He wasn’t going to fire her, that was without question. So instead she’d go over his head and give her resignation to Reese. She couldn’t go to Charlie, he might accept the resignation but she couldn’t be sure of it. The best option was to go straight to Reese.

If she was honest, she felt sick to her stomach as she wrote the resignation. Mac had a lot of jobs in her lifetime, and a lot in journalism but she wasn’t quite sure there was one she loved more than being an executive producer. Especially Will’s executive producer, disregarding their romantic interest in one another, they’d always had the right chemistry for it. No one knew how to produce Will like she did, there was evidence of it too, so many of the producers he had before she came back into his life had either quit or been fired because they couldn’t get along with or produce Will right. That was the case with Don, he was a great executive producer and she thought he and Elliott were on to something with Right Now, but as Will’s producer, Don just didn’t work quite as well. 

It wasn’t just producing Will that she loved, it was the entire staff too. They were like a family to her and the thought of not getting to see them everyday and have to show up at another newsroom with people she didn’t know was a thought she hated.

Mac stares at the screen of her laptop, the word document detailing her resignation was hard to look at. A sigh falls from her lips and she buries her hands in her face, what was she doing? She didn't want to resign but it felt like it was the right thing to do. Mac felt ultimately responsible for letting Genoa ever make it past discussion, let alone red teams. It should’ve been caught and she should’ve never trusted some guy she didn’t even know all that well over Jim, someone she went into a goddamn war zone with.

After rubbing her forehead for a moment, Mac brings her hands back down and closes the laptop, leaving the document open. She didn’t know what she was going to do, and maybe it was best to just leave it be until tomorrow when she’d be feeling maybe slightly different about everything. There was doubt if she’d sleep, but at least tomorrow was a new day full of new moods and maybe she’d delete that resignation document.

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Will starts coming out of his sleep and in that in-between stage, he reaches out to the other side of the bed for Mackenzie. However, instead of his hand landing on her side, it hits the bed below him and his eyes open instantly in confusion. Their room was only lit with a single nightlight by their bed that way they could walk in and out to the bathroom in the middle of the night without running into the bed or something else on the way there. The light was enough to luminate their bed and there Will saw her half of the bed empty, the sheets disheveled but no Mackenzie.

He turns over to his bedside table and rubs his eyes before catching a look at the clock, 3:40AM. It wasn’t unusual for her to be up at this hour but he wondered why she wasn’t spending her restless night in bed.

His feet hit the cold hardwood floor a moment later and slowly, but surely, Will pulls himself up. He was still in that in-between stage of being half awake and half asleep and he could fall right back into another dream the minute he laid his head back down.

Walking out of their room and toward the living room, Will spots Mackenzie sitting on the couch with the television on, quietly playing a show as she tilted her head back and drank more of whatever it was that was in her glass. whiskey, rum, or bourbon he assumed.

“Honey it’s 3 in the morning, why don’t you come back to bed?” Will asks, his voice gruff with tiredness.

Mac breaks her trance from the television and looks up at Will approaching the couch, “I think I’m turning into Charlie,” she ignores his suggestion and takes another sip of her glass of bourbon. 

He settles down next to her, “not if you stop while you’re ahead,” he points out then steals the glass from her hand so she can’t have any more. Lord knows how much she’s had to drink already.

“Hey!” She exclaims and reaches out for the glass but Will only extends his arm out to the side, making sure she can’t reach the glass unless she gets up. After several attempts of reaching for her glass, including climbing on top of him to reach out for it, Mac gives up when she fails each time. She lets out of huff as she settles back down next to him, “fine.”

Will leans over to the table next to the side of the couch he was on and places the glass down on a coaster for the time being. He then settles back in his spot next to her, not saying anything at first. He shifts his gaze to the television that was playing some show he’d never seen before. He glances back at Mac, whose eyes were once again glued to the screen, reading the subtitles as they came and went on the screen.

It’s several minutes of silence and Will staring at the television screen, still not knowing what the hell was going on in the show, before he speaks up. “None of this is your fault, you know.”

Mac lets out a frustrated sigh and though part of her wants to argue, the other doesn’t, it doesn’t want to think about anything that happened tonight. “Billy… can we not talk about it?” She then peels her eyes from the screen and looks over at him with pleading eyes, she just wanted to forget about it for a little while.

He sees her pleading look and nods immediately, “yeah okay… if that’s what you want.”

“It is,” she nods and shifts back to the television screen again.

Will nods again then turns toward the couch, pulls the beige blanket that had been resting on it off and toward him. He unfolds the blanket and places it over Mac’s lap then places it onto his own. Scooting closer, Will slides his arm around her shoulders, turning his attention back to the show that was playing on the TV.

Mac looks up at him and her lips curve into a small smile, grateful that he’d woken up. She scoots as close as she possibly can to him then rests her head down on his shoulder, her eyes focusing back onto the show.

At around 4:30AM, Will shifts his gaze from the clock and slightly pulls back as he looks down at Mackenzie who had stayed on his shoulder the entire time. She was completely out, fast asleep and he wondered how long she’d been like that. The tiredness and stress must’ve eventually caught up with her and knocked her right out.

Turning off the tv, Will carefully slides his hands underneath her and picks her up, holding her tightly and closely as he begins making his way back to their bedroom.

On the way there, Mac stirs, letting out a soft groan as she nuzzled her face against his shoulder. For a brief moment, she finds herself the in the same stage he’d been in for the past hour, half awake, half asleep. In her tiredness she murmurs, “Billy?”

“Shh… Mackenzie go back to sleep, I’m just helping you to bed,” he says softly.

“I… ‘ove you… Billy” she tiredly murmurs and just like that, she was out again.

Will chuckles as quietly as he can as he opens the door to their bedroom, “I know honey, I ‘ove you too.” 

Once Mackenzie is settled down into her side of the bed, Will slides back under the covers with her. He smiles as he sees her fast asleep, relieved that she was getting the rest she desperately needed. Brushing a piece of hair from her face, he leans down and presses a soft kiss to her forehead then whispers a goodnight to her.

Will puts one arm around Mackenzie before finally closing his eyes himself. For at least an hour tonight, they’d both taken the time to forget about how atrocious their night had been and how awful the coming days, even weeks would be. Rebuilding News Night’s and ACN’s reputation wasn’t going to be a simple task, but they were a team, one that always worked well together and some way, somehow, they’d get through this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well everyone, this is where our story ends. I really hope that you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. 
> 
> Thank you for taking the time to read it, thank you for all of the comments and the love. I appreciate it all so much ❤️
> 
> Feel free to leave a kudos or any final feedback you might have on this last chapter. I’ll see you all soon with another story soon ❤️


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